Mamdani Skipped the Parade; Israeli War Criminals Didn’t
Juan Cole 06/03/2026
Oakland, Ca. (Special to Informed Comment; Feature) – The presence of Israeli Finance Minister Bezelal Smotrich (Religious Zionist Party) at the Israel Day Parade in New York City on May 31 was a puzzling choice as an ambassador to “bolster Israel’s image.” That would be like the US ambassador to the United Nations palling around with Steve Bannon, Alex Jones or a Proud Boys on the dais. Smotrich is a war criminal, according to the International Criminal Court. Admittedly, Smotrich and far-right Heritage Minister Amichay Eliyahu of the fascist Otzma Yehudit (Jewish Power) party, showed up on their own account and hadn’t been formally invited, so American officials who committed to participating in the parade did not know they would be there. But once they appeared, most New York politicians stood with them rather than boycotting them or denouncing them.
Many things are wrong with this picture, most notably Sen. Chuck Schumer, Rep. Jerry Nadler, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and others, standing with Smotrich to dignify him. Smotrich and Finance Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir (also of the Otzma Yehudit – Jewish Power Party) are the faces of Israel’s pogroms in the West Bank, and genocide in Gaza. How could Schumer and company be so tone-deaf and politically blind? Marching in solidarity with war criminals is not an _expression_ of Jewish solidarity nor spiritual Judaism. The only reason the likes of Smotrich and Ben-Gvir are in the Israeli government is because PM Benjamin Netanyahu couldn’t form a governing coalition without them. So, he recruited the Israeli Proud Boys despite their criminal records.
While many Jews in the US and the world have divorced their Judaism from Zionism over Israel’s campaigns of genocide in Gaza and West Bank annexation, highly placed American elected officials remain wedded to the Temple Sunday School myths articulated by Golda Meir. She often denied the tragedy of the Palestinian Nakba (catastrophe), famously saying, “We arrived in a barren, empty land; and made the desert bloom through sheet pioneer spirit, creating a thriving democratic sanctuary for our exiled people.” Fact check by Prof. Edward Said: “There was no empty desert. You bulldozed over 500 thriving, indigenous villages, wiped their Arabic names off the map, and buried their history under your newly planted pine trees.”
NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani chose to sit this one out. Unlike Schumer, Mamdani recognizes that standing in solidarity with an Israeli war criminal sends the wrong message, as if they approve of the pogroms and genocide. Smotrich responded to news of the ICC intent to arrest him two weeks ago, by ordering the destruction of another sovereign Palestinian village, Khan al-Ahmar, as a form of revenge for his indictment. Under Netanyahu’s leadership, Zionism has become perverted and inverted into a deep rabbit hole, contrary to the proud history of ethical Judaism. The Likud Party has become the Israeli version of MAGA, with a criminal political alliance between Bibi and convicted felon Donald Trump.
Mamdani’s absence from the Israel Day Parade was not an _expression_ of anti-Semitism. It was an act of recognition that Netanyahu’s and Smotrich’s brand of Zionism has become a stain on Judaism and all who support them. Many Jews feel the same way, from the non-practicing to the deeply observant. The operative question is not why Mamdani sat this one out, but why any elected American officials would publicly dignify Smotrich and his agenda of annexing the West Bank, and to raze Gaza for to make room for a Trump resort development.
Jewish organizations such as Jews for Racial and Economic Justice (JFREJ) object to the Israel Day Parade’s characterization as, “a celebration of Jewish identity, pride and community.” This is because it conflates the identity of all Jews with Israel, and distills “Jewish identity and community to being solely about the state of Israel.” This conflicts with their perception that “Jewish identity is a rich tapestry, multilayered across place and time.” Indeed it is. Efforts to characterize Jews as a monolith fuels and feeds into the new, virulent strains of anti-Semitism; especially when left and right wing political forces brand all Jews as Zionists.
Ben Rhodes, a former national security official under the Obama administration asked, “Why is it controversial for Zohran to skip a parade because of his principles but not for Democratic politicians to march with a fascist bigot like Smotrich? Does Schumer realize that standing with Smotrich is an endorsement of ethnic cleansing in the West Bank and Gaza? And the destruction of suburbs in Beirut? Jewish Voice for Peace political director Beth Miller, objected to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) condemning Mamdani’s absence from what it called, “the city’s largest and most visible Jewish celebration.” She said, “It’s anti-Semitic to conflate Jews and Israel. Which is exactly what the ADL is doing by calling the ‘Israel Day Parade’ a ‘Jewish celebration.’”
Photo by Robert Bye on Unsplash
Mayor Mamdani wasn’t the only public official who boycotted the event. New York Jewish Congressional candidate and former NYC comptroller Brad Lander also stayed away, while former mayors Michael Bloomberg and Eric Adams attended, as did Rep. Dan Goldman, (whom Lander is challenging for his seat). State Attorney General Letitia James qualified her involvement saying that while she supports Israel, “Islamophobia has no place in New York. I unequivocally condemn Bezalel Smotrich’s hateful rhetoric.” Lander clarified his position vs. Goldman’s saying, “We’re both proud Jewish New Yorkers. But there are sharp and clear differences between us on Israel/Palestine. For example, Dan Goldman marched alongside war criminal Bezalel Smotrich yesterday, who called it ‘just and moral’ to starve Gaza. I did not.” Mamdani said, Smotrich’s “presence in our city is an affront to everything New York stands for.”
While rightwing Zionists complained about Mamdani’s absence, he was neither welcome nor expected. The Jewish Telegraph Agency and New York Jewish Weekly cited participants who were not only pleased by his absence, but added, “Why should you be some place where you don’t like?” But they added a spin that does not compute with the real world saying, “He (Mamdani) does not promote peace. This promotes peace, but of course he’s not going to be here.” Peace? No, in the context of Israel’s behavior since October 2023, the parade was a celebration of Israel’s essence, which now includes genocide and ethnic cleansing. It was not a campaign for peace, but an incitement and provocation.